Dishing Out the Dirt - How can Singapore Inculcate the Right Tray Return Habits

Abstract

Despite Singapore’s reputation for being a clean city, getting people to return their trays and crockery in hawker centres, food courts and fast food eateries, was a problem that had become a national issue. Given the difficulty of changing social norms, some nudging from the authorities was needed and various strategies to encourage returning of trays and crockery were deployed, including a deposit-based system, with varying results.